My name means defender of mankind
My sign represents justice
Artemis is my champion
Protector of women
Who am I?
I am the defender of mankind
I protect those who cannot help themselves
I was a top candidate at a federal prison to  become a Correctional Officer
I turned it down because I was afraid.
Not of the job or the weight it carries
I wasn’t afraid of the danger of the walls or what lives inside them
On the contrary
That excited me
But that feeling
Gives me a chill to bone
I was afraid of the walls changing me
Bringing the worse out in me
I was going to be a part of a brotherhood
The thin grey line
I wasn’t afraid of the OC spray
I took that blow to the face just fine
I puked and choked along side of my brothers
But I noticed a change in me
A slight change
A part of me I’ve held on to for so long
A part of me the world hasn’t been able to take away
I noticed it starting to fade
I noticed it when I looked at the inmates
Us versus them
I was going to win at all cost
I didn’t want to fail my brothers
But that mentality I started to grow
It wasn’t me
I had to make a choice
I’m a defender of mankind
All of mankind
I found another way
To stay true to myself
I no longer represent the thin grey line
The law I embrace
I found another way to fight the wolves
I choose to protect the flock a different way
Not with fist, batons, and the OC spray
My words are my weapons of choice
I still fight the wolves
I’m no longer the sheepdog
I am
I will be
The shepherd